Hikari No Will Power

Act One, Chapter Two
One Tragedy Falls After The Other! Never Despair, Saiyajin!


A soft chuckle escaped the officer's lips as he met Briefs-Vegeta's orbs with his mischief-filled green ones. "You have no way out, I'm afraid, sir. I suggest you surrender peacefully before we use force on you. You DON'T want to know what we're capable of doing; we're the best of the best Japan has to offer in the entire police network."

Bite me, the demi-saiyajin thought to himself grimly. Surrender? No way. That word doesn't happen to be in my vocabulary, and I don't intend to add it as an entry either. But it looks like I only have one option left. Forgive me, Otousan, I know this isn't your idea of being a saiyajin --- and being the son of the Ouji, at that --- but I don't have a choice!

Briefs-Vegeta sighed heavily, then put the man down and raised both his arms. "I surrender."

"Very good, sir. I'm glad that you did not let your anger overrule your common sense. Many people who have pursued that path failed miserably, and---" the officer's cool and casual tone was replaced by a terrified yell as the lavender-haired CEO of Capsule Corporation hurled a low-energy blast towards him --- missing him on purpose, of course.

One ki-blast came after the other, although the young man wasn't aiming it to hurt them, as that was what he was trying to avoid. He was merely creating a distraction, a distraction that would provide him an opportunity to escape, and so far, it was working.

"J-Jinzouningen!" a low-rank policeman screamed in utter panic before he scrambled out of the building --- and it gave Trunks an idea. Putting the most Vegeta-like smile he could muster, he transformed into super saiyajin, and it was enough to plunge the sword of fear through the hearts of those who surrounded him.

Then the shooting started, as the officer who interrogated him earlier barked at the others to take down the golden-haired android rip-off at whatever means possible. Their move was futile, though, for the demi-saiyajin merely caught the bullets with his hand effortlessly. "You were mistaken to mess with me," he began in the most lethal tone he ever dared to use, "although you might live, if I let you."

His lips parted into a smirk that mirrored the classic one his father in the other timeline used to wear, and crossing his arms in front of his chest in an authoritative manner, he waited for their reaction. He had the gut feeling, though, that they would end up apologizing, which was the point of the whole show, for after their I'm so sorry speech he would be able to walk away as if he thought of sparing their lives than blasting their pitiful souls to the next dimension.

And then, he would start clearing his name.

Two men in onyx-colored masks were dragged towards Kanryu's office by one of his other muscular bodyguards. They struggled to break free, but they were too weak compared to the majority of Kanryu's men --- after all, the ambitious man wanted to have the best fighting force, a team that no one will be able to defeat.

His ace? The cold and heartless Ten-Thirteen.

"Lord Kanryu," the robe-clad bodyguard began in a low-key voice, dumping the men violently to the floor in front of his master with a smile depicting his silent satisfaction at seeing them marred. "Spies of Fuiuchi Zakihiro."

The look on Kanryu's face was that of anger and annoyance, and he didn't bother to hide it when the two intruders were presented to him. "He really has no idea of what the word fair play means," he growled before he turned towards Ten-Thirteen who was sitting casually by Kanryu's table. "Silence them."

"S-sir..." one of the two spooks stuttered as he stood up and backed away from the older man, his fear evident despite of the mask he wore. He continued to move back in fear, until his back was on the cold, concrete wall. "T-that's not t-true! We're not sp-spies of Z-zakihiro---"

Ten-Thirteen put aside the folder she was holding, stood up and advanced towards the two intruders, who were practically scared to near-death at the sight of her sinister and glacier-like blue eyes. In a mocking tone, she asked, "Really? What did you come here for, then? To hang around and check out the sights?"

"S-sir... please l-listen..."

"It's useless to deny it, gentlemen. You're guilty; I can see it in your eyes." She then started pacing back and forth in front of the trespassers, her hands clasped behind her back --- the same gesture she learned from the academy right from the beginning of her training in the deadly arts. "Let's see... Zakihiro sent you here to uncover a secret or two here in our base so that he may be able to transform that into an issue to use against his greatest rival... and therefore disqualify him. A very dirty move, I must say. Dirty and reduntant, and an age-old tactic. He should just accept the fact that he is losing the game, and that our master will be the new Prime Minister of Japan by sundown, to avoid putting him in trouble. In more trouble, rather."

Her master leaned back on his reclining chair, lacing his fingers together as he watched, a smirk replacing his serious expression. Ten-Thirteen had always wanted to play things nice and slow, just as what she was doing at the moment, and she had all the right to. He gave out the order, yes, but he did not tell her how it was to be done.

It was then when the female assassin snickered, pulling out of her standby stance and holding up her palm, as if she wanted to let the two men see what was lined on it. "Now, gentlemen, how do you want your deaths to be? Do you want it to be as quick as lightning, without feeling anything? Do you want it to be moderate enough to feel pain tickling your ribs? Or do you want it to be slow and... excruciating?" she questioned before her smile turned even more cruel. "Do you want to die by my hand, or by my blade? Or by a wave of energy that will tear burn your skin, melt your bones and turn your body to dust?"

"P-please d-don't k-kill u-us! W-we b-beg of y-you!"

Ten-thirteen shook her head ruefully, although the expression of sorrow that played on her pale yet striking features was a fraudulent one. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but that is something I cannot fulfill. I am but the executioner of this court; not the judge nor the jury. My task is to give the appropriate punishment for those who falter and fall, as they must pay the price. And you, are two of those unfortunate ones." She raised her hand, charging up a ball of energy, the fiendish smile back on her features --- before she looked down at those she was supposed to smite and whispered in the same lethal tone, "Sleep well."

"Shimatta," Trunks cursed with gritted teeth as he hammered monstrously on his laptop, as he was back in his office in Capsule Corporation. He managed to walk --- rather, fly --- away from the police station as if he was compassionate enough to let the frightened policemen live, but trouble was not over at that point.

It had just begun.

Gunfire chased him as the officials continued their vain attempt to take him down, but he was too fast for them. However, they were not giving up, as they rounded up their forces all over the country right after his escape to capture him once and for all. Heck, some of the troops were already by Capsule Corporation, setting up all their equipment in case they would have to take drastic measures.

The young man slammed his fists on the table, nearly breaking it into two. His eyes were shut tight as he ran a quick calming exercise, although his anger continued to radiate from his muscular form, evident in the slight cackling of static around his body. But he had a reason to be mad, as his life that was practically a living hell was made even worse at the sudden turn of events.

He looked at the screen of his laptop one last time before he picked it up and threw it towards the wall angrily, his saiyajin strength rendering its immediate destruction. When he came in his office and saw that all the money he had kept was gone, he took it lightly at the thought that someone just came in and stole them when the chaos begun. But his empty safe, closed bank accounts and lost company shares --- lost in the sense that it was now owned by someone else --- informed him of his current financial situation.

He was bankrupt.

He had no family left --- his father was killed long ago by the blasted androids, his sensei was sent to his grave the very same way years later, and his mother died of a mysterious disease that had been killing her slowly from the inside. He managed to keep himself together despite her death, which was the most painful of all, and instead, he busied himself by re-establishing his family's honor and glory, Capsule Corporation. When he was near the peak of his mountain, he was framed up, and now he was a fugitive, wanted by the government for a crime he did not commit. He was broke, and he knew that without his wealth, it would be impossible for him to keep his company under his ownership. Either it will fall to the hands of some other businessman, or it will be torn apart by those who had been struggling to bring him and the Briefs' legacy down.

What do I have left?! Trunks thought furiously, hot tears cascading past his ashen cheeks, which fell drop by drop on his hands that were pressed hard against the half-destroyed office table. What do I have left in this damned world?! What have I done to live in this hell?! What have I done wrong to be punished like this?!

He paused to push back his tears, open his eyes and pick up the picture frame which fell to the floor, where he saw the smiling faces of himself and his mother. He ran his fingers over the portrait gingerly, the drops of liquid back in his eyes, and then, he flung it towards the wall forcefully with a wail. "Hope... Hope... Hope..." he muttered, reassuring himself, when he shook his head vigorously. "What hope?! There's no hope left! Not in this vortex of hell, anyway!"

That was when Trunks' legs weakened and gave way, as his body lost its strength just as his heart and soul had. He dropped on his knees, despair painted in the gorgeous azure windows of his handsome face, and cried. He thought of the possibility that his father in the Afterlife was disowning him at the moment for showing such helplessness, but he didn't care anymore. He lost everything he ever had except his life, and he craved for nothing more than its polar opposite at the very moment.

He wanted to die.

"I am very grateful to those of you who gave me this wonderful opportunity to make a difference in your lives... and for those of you who had doubt in your hearts, I shall prove to you that my victory isn't a curse but rather, a blessing. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, and do not forget the promise I made... and the promise I will fulfill. This nation will be great again."

Thunderous applause and defeaning cheers reached the ears of the newly-sworn Prime Minister Hyouko Kaname, causing him to smile in utter satisfaction as he walked down from the platform and hurried out of the Capitol's Grand Hall. He was flanked almost immediately by four armed males --- bodyguards, obviously --- and two young women. To his right, her arm hooked into his, was his most loyal employee and secretary, Kasumi Valkyrie, and walking beside him on the left was his daughter, Yumi.

Despite her father's victory in the elections, Yumi did not look happy. She continued to scowl, ignoring the cameras that were capturing images of her and her family, and neglecting everyone in general. Her eyes darted uneasily towards the other woman with her father, the one she hated with passion --- although she never showed how much she despised Kasumi in public.

Even before reaching the entrance, she told her father that she did not want to ride with him, and that she would take the other vehicle. Reluctantly, Hyouko agreed, although it annoyed Yumi that things did not change, for as soon as she turned around to mount the other car, Japan's new Prime Minister sweetly stepped away from the path he was blocking and ushered his secretary inside their limousine.

"Where do you wish to go, Lady Yumi?" the chauffeur asked politely as she slammed the door shut in ire. "Master Hyouko told me to take you where you want to go, and assist you in any way possible."

"Home," Yumi answered, leaning back and closing her eyes to calm herself down, when her verdant orbs snapped open, an idea striking her. She bent her body slightly forward in an angle to peer right into the rear view mirror and said, "No... bring me to my apartment instead... you know, the one near the boundary of West Capitol and Satan City?"

He nodded. "Your will shall be done, my lady," he blurted out as he turned the car around and headed the other way, towards West Capitol. All of a sudden, uncertainty leaked in his calm and too-cool features. "But are you sure you want to go there, Lady Yumi? Along with the news of Master Hyouko's victory in the elections came the word that the Chief Executive Officer of Capsule Corporation --- a certain Trunks Briefs-Vegeta --- who murdered 13 of his own employees yesterday escaped from the authorities. I do not want to bring you into an unsafe haven, my lady."

Kaname smiled, an assuring one at that. "Don't worry, Jin. I appreciate your concern, really, but I'll be fine." She paused for a moment before she asked, "So... what do you think about Kasumi?"

"I do not know what you want to hear from me, my lady," Jin answered courteously. "Do you want to know whether I like Mistress Kasumi or not? Or do you want to hear my opinion about her and Master Hyouko?"

She bit her lip. So it was now Mistress Kasumi, huh? "Are they really..." she began, but then shook her head, settling for a more direct question. "Is she going to be my stepmother, Jin? I mean, I'm sure you've been with them a couple of times the past days, and I thought that you might know a thing or two..."

The chauffeur shrugged slightly at that, and then, he told her what he had picked up the past few days. "Forgive me for gossiping, my lady... I do not mean harm with my words, but only to satisfy you with the information you want, from what I managed to gather. One of the housemaids found a receipt in Master Hyouko's room for... well... a ring. She suggested that it must be for you, but with the way your father and Mistress Kasumi have been going out together, I doubt it." He paused upon seeing the change in her expression. "Yes, Lady Yumi. Your father has changed her title from Lady to Mistress, so I suppose she will be your new mother very soon."

The expression of Yumi's face was indescribable, and then, disgust shone through. "I don't understand... what is Dad thinking?! Kasumi is only seventeen for crying out loud, and she's a year younger than me! If she wants to give me another mother, he should at least pick a decent one, not just some slut for a secretary!"

Jin Tetsei chose not to comment on the young woman's statement, even though he wanted to; he continued to drive his master's daughter towards her apartment. 18-year-old Yumi Kaname, on the other hand, rolled her eyes as she slumped back against the car's cushioned seat.

What has this world come to?! she thought angrily, as she hadn't actually been happy with her life. She was rich, famous and idolized, yes... but she wasn't happy. There was something keeping her euphoria locked up somewhere where she could not reach it, even though she vainly tried to do so. What do I have left in this damned world?! Useless paper bills, a gazillion servants, a father who doesn't care and the sluttish secretary of his who will soon be my new mother?! What have I done to live in this hell?! What have I done wrong to be punished like this?!

She closed her eyes. Sometimes --- and one of those times was now --- she wanted to die.